Pr. Commissioner of Customs Vs Anandit Infotech India Pvt Ltd (CESTAT Bangalore)
The dispute in the appeal concerned the classification of the imported product, Airspan Air Velocity 2700. The importer had declared the goods under Customs Tariff Heading (CTH) 8517 6260 and filed the Bill of Entry accordingly. Although the self-assessment was initially facilitated through the Risk Management System (RMS), the department questioned the classification during scrutiny. The Adjudicating Authority rejected the importer’s classification, reclassified the goods under CTH 8517 6290, and denied the benefit of Sl. No. 20 of Notification No. 57/2017 dated 30.06.2017. The Commissioner (Appeals) subsequently set aside the adjudication order, leading to the Revenue’s appeal before the Tribunal.
The Revenue argued that the imported goods were radio units and LTE devices rather than equipment falling under CTH 8517 6260, which specifically covers Synchronous Digital Hierarchy System (SDH) equipment. Reliance was placed on technical information indicating that Air Velocity 2700 is a 5G Radio Unit designed for 5G Radio Access Networks (RAN) and not traditional SDH equipment used for fibre-optic transmission and transport networks. According to the Revenue, the goods were correctly classifiable under the residual entry CTH 8517 6290.
The importer submitted that Airspan Air Velocity 2700 was imported for research and development purposes and functioned as telecommunication networking equipment. It was argued that all relevant documents, including technical literature, catalogue, and WPC licence, had been provided at the time of import. The importer emphasized that the equipment synchronizes signals and forms part of a 5G mobile radio communication system.
